1. Field of Invention
First responders often are confronted with the task of alerting the driving public to hazardous zones such as accident scenes. In nighttime situations incendiary road flares have traditionally been deployed around the hazard to guide advancing traffic safely past the danger. Incendiary road flares are very bright but they are also hazardous. Therefore they are being replaced by electric lights also known as flares, electric flares, lighting devices or lights. The electric lights usually emit a pulsing light as pulsing lights attract more attention. The lights are placed on the road to signal to approaching vehicles the fact that a hazard exists. It is common practice for several of the lights to be placed in the roadway forming a wedge to guide approaching vehicles around the hazard. The lights are usually designed to concentrate their emitted light into a powerful horizontal light beam in order that they provide the high intensity signal expected of incendiary road flares. These horizontal light beams are often directed throughout the azimuth but they can also be aimed in a single direction. Once lighted and in place the lights emit their powerful horizontal light beams to alert drivers to the hazard. However, regardless of whether the responder uses an incendiary flare or electric light a problem exists during deployment and retrieval as the first responder is unlighted and on a dark roadway. Oncoming drivers can easily fail to see the first responder resulting in a catastrophic accident.
2. Prior Art
Prior art includes electric lights or flares that are placed on the road. Small electric lights often replace incendiary road flares because they avoid the hazards created by pyrotechnic systems. The individual lights commonly available include a light concentrating optic to form an intense light beam directed along the horizontal when the light is in its deployed position. The lights are commonly stored within a hard opaque plastic case having a handle similar to a tool box or stored in a fabric pouch in groups of four to eight. When needed they are removed from the case, switched on and placed on the roadway. The fabric pouches usually include a shoulder strap permitting the first responder to sling it over his shoulder and carry the group of lights while placing them in a wedge formation at a substantial distance before the obstruction.
The process of dispensing and retrieving these lights is dangerous. The prior art procedure for lights held in a pouch includes locating the lights within the vehicle, opening the fabric pouch and slinging it over the responders shoulder. Next while walking towards traffic the first responder must turn on and deploy the first light. This is repeated for each of the lights in the pouch. This procedure is reversed when retrieving the lights. Therefore during the deployment procedure of the prior art lights the responder is unlighted and at risk.
The prior art procedure for transporting and dispensing lights held in a plastic case is more difficult. These tool box type cases have a hinged cover which is latched to the bottom of the case so that the flare kit can be transported and stored without loosing the held lights. The lights during the transporting orientation are completely enclosed within the opaque case. If the lights are illuminated their light beams could in some prior art designs be directed along a horizontal. However since the tool box is completely closed and substantially opaque only a small amount of light emerges. Some light can emerge due to cracks or seams in the tool box. Also if the held lights are powerful enough a small amount of light can pass through the opaque plastic case. This occurs because although plastic resins are identified as opaque, translucent or transparent in practice they rarely function exactly as any of the identifiers indicate. For example a transparent case is rarely totally transparent. It will normally exhibit some of the light scattering and diffusion expected of a translucent case. Similarly an opaque case will permit a small amount of a powerful light beam to pass through and emerge diffused.
FIGS. 12 through 15 to be later described describe a prior art road flare lighting kit.
Although not offered as a method by any manufacturer the responder using prior art designs can energize the lights prior to entering the roadway. However the prior art case does not secure the individual lights such that their light beams remain horizontal during their removal from the case nor does it permit the light to emerge from the case along a horizontal direction having an intensity sufficient for it to be seen by an oncoming driver. Therefore although a responder can energize his prior art lights and replace them in their case before entering the roadway there is no prior art reason to make that effort. The possible advantages of placing energized lights in the case are not realized due to the low transmissivity of the cases offered by the manufacturer. In addition there are problems related to a responder energizing lights and placing them in the prior art case. Specifically the individual lights are very intense within their light beam. Prior art is not securing the lights such that the emitted light beam remains horizontal during transporting and deployment can—if the lights are illuminating—temporarily blind the responder creating a new hazard.
Prior art does not include the following features:                Prior art lights are not visible through a translucent or transparent carrier as they are being transported to a deployment location.        Prior art does not provide pockets with activation openings to easily activate a switch to energize the lights while still in the carrier.        Prior art does not provide pockets with openings to install the lights into the carrier without opening a cover or door.        Prior art in not holding the lights with their light beam in a horizontal orientation during deployment and transportation risks exposing the first responder to bright flashes of light causing temporary blindness.        Prior art does not provide an opening in each pocket of the carrier for some of the emitted light from each held lighting device to pass unobstructed and unattenuated to the exterior of the carrier along the horizontal to sum or combine to make the carrier a highly visible object protecting the responder        Prior art does not use light emerging from the carrier to illuminate the responder during deployment or retrieval of the lights.        Prior art does not secure the lights within a light transmitting carrier oriented such that the concentrated horizontal light beams emitted from the lights emerge from the carrier along a horizontal to combine to make the carrier a highly visible object protecting the first responder.        Prior art does not provide a light transmitting carrier combining the emerging light from a plurality of held lighting devices to effect a powerful horizontal light beam emerging from the carrier making it a personal warning light protecting the first responder.        Prior art does not offer a method or reason for activating the lights within the carrier prior to deploying the lights.        Prior art does not provide an opening in the carrier permitting the lights to be removed while the carrier remains in a transporting orientation.        
3. Objects and Advantages
The objects and advantages of the present invention are to improve upon the safety of responders as they deploy lighting devices including electric lights used as road flares. During the deployment procedure the first responder is vulnerable as he is on foot and he is unlighted. Often emergency vehicles which have lights are on the scene. However, the powerful emergency vehicle lights frequently exacerbate the safety problem for the responder as those lights blind advancing drivers making it difficult for them to see the responder in the roadway as he is deploying flares.
The present invention provides a carrier for holding a plurality of energized lighting devices. The carrier is designed to permit light emitted from each of the held lighting devices to emerge from the carrier making the carrier and the responder holding it highly visible objects. The light emerges from the carrier either by passing through the light transmitting resin used to construct the carrier or unattenuated through openings in the carrier. Light which passes through the carrier will be attenuated to some degree depending upon the resin. In order for light to pass exterior to the carrier unattenuated it must pass through an opening in the carrier. The emerging light from the plurality of held lights combines to make the carrier a highly visible object. A portion of the emerging light illuminates the responder holding the carrier making him visible to oncoming drivers.
The held lights when in their standing or deployed orientation usually provide concentrated light beams directed along the horizontal in order to maximize the intensity of the light viewed by oncoming drivers also along the horizontal. The carrier is designed to hold the lights such that their emitted light beams remain directed along the horizontal to maximize their visibility during transportation and while standing. Also, in holding the lights within the carrier such that during transportation their emerging light beams emerge horizontally avoids directing very powerful light beams into the eyes of the responder and therefore avoids temporarily blinding him. The carrier also will usually transmit and diffuse some of the light. This makes the carrier appear large and visible from all angles of viewing thereby assuring its visibility from all angles of approach.
The referenced prior art does not teach or address the following concepts which are employed in the current invention.                The present invention includes a light transmitting carrier which transmits some (a far from negligible) portion of the light emitted by a plurality of held lights through the walls of the carrier towards advancing vehicles such that the transmitted light has an intensity sufficient to alert drivers of a first responder's presence thereby making the carrier a highly visible safety warning device.        The present invention includes a carrier for holding a plurality of lights such that some (a far from negligible) portion of the light emitted by the held lights passes unattenuated through openings in said carrier such that the transmitted light has an intensity sufficient about a horizontal to warn approaching drivers of the presence of a first responder thereby making the carrier a highly visible safety warning device.        The present invention includes a carrier for holding a plurality of lights in such a way that the first responder can activate the lights without removing them from the carrier thereby reducing the time required to deploy the lights.        The present invention includes a carrier holding a plurality of lighting devices for either temporary or permanent attachment to a surface such that light emitted from the lighting devices emerges from the carrier along a horizontal to serve as a safety beacon.        The present invention minimizes the time spent by first responders in the roadway setting up and retrieving lights thereby reducing accidents.        The present invention holds the lighting devices in a standing orientation directing their light beams to emerge along a horizontal to provide supplementary illumination when left standing or when disposed on a vehicle to increase the visibility of the vehicle and reduce accidents.        The present invention holds lights having concentrated light beams within a carrier with the lights positioned such that the concentrated light beams emerge from the carrier to overlap and sum so that the emerging light is a powerful horizontal beam.        The present invention permits at least a portion of the light emitted from each held light to pass horizontally unattenuated to oncoming vehicles providing an intense warning beacon. Another portion of the emitted light passes through the translucent plastic carrier. The diffusing feature of the translucent plastic sums light from a plurality of held lighting devices to turn the carrier into a large glowing highly visible object providing a second type of safety beacon.        The present invention illuminates the first responder as he transports, deploys and retrieves the road flares making him more visible and therefore safer.        The present invention uses the variations amongst the pulse rates of the plurality of held lights to create a highly visible carrier that pulses randomly and at a higher frequency than the held lights.        The present invention employs a carrier with a nonrotatable or fixed handle to facilitate the installation and removal of held lighting devices and to prevent inadvertent misdirection of their powerful light beams.        The present invention provides pockets with restrictions to facilitate rapid installation and removal of held lighting devices while still securely holding them.        The present invention holds a plurality of pulsing lighting devices and permits their light to emerge at different locations on a carrier to provide a pulsing signal that jumps to different locations thereby creating a highly visible object.        
Further objects and advantages are realized through combinations of the above distinct advantages.